The Others
The Others have no name for themselves, or at least one that can be translated into human pronunciation. They appeared for a brief period in human history and were a major catalyst in the advance of technologies that led the Space Exploration Era, from July 2, 2106 to their gradual exodus in the 2140s. Despite this, they play very little role in galactic politics and show very little interest in control, conquest, or colonization in the universe. Contact has been minimal and none of it properly documented, leading to the belief that such instances were faked and the Others may have been driven to extinction. The Other World A small, hot, foggy, and windy planet orbiting a dim red star, the planet gave rise to a large variety of natural flora and fauna, in extreme similarity to Earth. The planet has an unusually high water content and is frequently subject to powerful winds and storms. History (To be edited in) The Others fled from the Other World some time before the 21st century, and wandered the galaxy in the great space station coined by humans as Outpost. The reason for this is due to increasing social tension and a populace burdened by the rampant spread of a fatal, near unstoppable virus. Several uninfected survivors turned all their efforts into building a massive, self-sufficient space station; roughly five percent of the Other population left on it. The fate of the remaining Others left on the Other World is unclear, although it is presumed that few, if any, are alive. Society This outline represents only the small portion of Other culture that left on Outpost and the resulting society that grew from it. Animals and Plants Screeches A four-legged, predator animal renowned by the Others, soldiers in particular, for its fearsome and aggressive hunting style. An ambush predator, screeches, as called by humans, are similar to dogs in the respect that they are pack animals and were used by pre-modern Others as hunting animals. The screech hunts by leaping out at unsuspecting or sleeping prey, placing its limbs on any ear slit or hearing device the prey has, and literally screaming at the prey until it can skewer their brains with the spike protruding from its core. This technique is most effective on species similar to it, which leads to such phrases as "a screech has more loyalty than that" and "scarier than a screech". These animals are given to extremes; higher-class Others tame them and find them to be quite playful if fed, while lower-class Others use them as brute force animals, and they are often used as mascots for organizations that wish to convey feelings of fear and ferocity. Black Leaf Most flora on the Other World can be traced back to a common ancestor that had black pigmentation, instead of green. The black leaf had little significance in Other culture until the encounter with humanity. Its uncanny resemblance to the Earth lily led to its immediate liking by humans, and it became heavily symbolic of the hope for peace and unity between the two races. Anthropology Age Most of Other culture gives veneration to age; Other children and babies are almost callously disregarded. Indeed, despite medical advances that make such practices obsolete, certain religious Others will still partake in the ritual cannabilism of their eggs while protecting the clutch and will refuse to eat anything else until the first egg hatches. On the other hand, older Others are given the highest respect. Other queens are a strange inversion of this; despite the fact that they eternally resemble a young, fetal Other, they are given the highest respect as well. Behavior (illogical, pathological, normal, prescribed, cravings for the forbidden, non-comformist, defectives- physical and mental, motivations, fears) Crimes (deviants- sexual, political, philosophical, etc., defined types of crimes, punishments, rewards, organizations, law enforcement) Body Language Others naturally release scented pheromones, almost imperceptible to humans, to tell their mood. These give off simple emotions and states (happy, angry, sad, excited, hungry, tired), but unlike human "poker faces", to purposely withhold emotional pheromones is both difficult and considered unnatural, as if there were a human face with no eyes. Class Differences Other nobility has long since been wiped out, although in pre-modern times there were several dynasties that ruled the island nations of the Other World; now, the queens fulfill many of the higher government roles. It should be noted that craftsmen enjoy a somewhat elevated status among Others, as long as their work remains high quality, while priests are considered on the same level as many "average" careers. Herds of drones are technically the property of the pack of soldiers that claims ownership to them, but they are not slaves in that they are not legally obligated to follow the pack's orders for labor; their bodies and their children are merely forfeit as food for them. Educators enjoy many special privileges in Other society, as they act more like parent figures than actual parents do, and are usually leaders of the pack or the herd. Dissidents and criminals are to the mercy of the queens, although a criminal that repents is viewed much more favorably than one that does not. During the Other-human joint occupation of Earth, those who associated with humans were treated variably; humanity, in fact, proved to be one of the most divisive events in Other history. Customs Discrimination and Minorities Family Names Organizations Ornaments Time Culture Physiology The closest analogy to Earth fauna that Others have is octopus, squid, and other cephalopods. They are carbon-based and radially symmetrical, having one "core" where many of the major organs are found, and six legs spread out evenly. Each leg ends in three, tube-like fingers, two "outer" and one "inner". The outer fingers have small, teeth-like structures inside of a hollow opening and are used for food intake and reproduction, while the inner finger is used for waste excretion. The Other "leg" is a muscular hydrostat, and has one major vessel in its center that brings food up to the core. The core contains a rudimentary digestive system and a small brain, but no heart or lungs; respiration occurs through continuous diffusion through spiracles spread across the skin, where scent and pheromone release occur as well. The Other nervous system is ganglionic, and the central brain is small, while many more nerve cords are allocated around their limbs. They are blind, but have high limbic intelligence responsible for olfaction, as well as high touch sensitivity and large parts of their brain responsible for movement coordination. Others live comfortably in temperature ranges slightly higher than that of humans. Their outer skin, while slightly bristly in areas in need of large amounts of respiration, is rubbery and smooth underneath. Others are generally pale and white; examples of pigmentation are few and far between. They can measure up to two meters in diameter and half a meter in height, although considerable variation occurs within castes. Others live on average for fifty human years, although, once again, variation is dramatic between castes. Others are considerably less dense than most life on Earth. Unlike humans, Others can take a near indefinite amount of blunt force trauma by mere virtue of not having bones; however, significant damage to a single limb can be fatal. Others also require high amounts of oxygen to respirate normally. Reproduction among Others can be considered sexual, but Others possess no genders. Instead, any two Others can exchange genetic material, and after a three-month pregnancy both will lay a cluster of eggs, numbering in the hundreds. In the wild, Others enter seclusion while caring for the eggs, and will, in fact, eat any extra for food while waiting for them to hatch. Soldiers Others are divided into three castes. The first to achieve sentience on the Other World are the "soldiers". The name is somewhat of a misnomer, due to the prevalent human misconception, at the time of their naming, that the Others operated as a hive. Soldiers are carnivorous creatures that are generally lighter, faster, and smaller than Other drones, usually growing to one and a half meters in diameter. A major difference between soldiers and drones is the membrane that connects each of their adjacent limbs. Soldiers use these as gliding devices, riding on wind or slowing their descent from high places. They are not capable, however, of true flight. Drones Other drones developed sentience shortly after soldiers' did, as a means of combating predatory pressure. Drones are larger, bulkier, and slower, growing as far as two and a half meters in diameter and a meter in height. Drones have primitive skulls on top of their core, a type of semi-rigid, cartiliginous shield. Drones are herd grazers, and some are cultivated purposefully by the soldiers in modern Other society as food sources. Drones are an entirely separate species from soldiers, despite their similar physiologies. Queens An indirect product of the virus that devastated the Other World, queens are genetically modified, fetal Others of both castes. In a trade-off of physical strength and stature, the Other queens have massive intellects and were a failed attempt to discover a solution in time to cure the virus. They are sterile, incapable of breeding, and their weaker bodies and immune systems often mean they succumb to disease early in their lives. "Better", improved versions of the queens were developed until the curing of the virus, after which development ceased and the queens slowly died out. Category:Nations/Races